In the start, Chromebooks weren’t actually meant to handle recordsdata.It’s powerful to even keep in mind now, however within the earliest incarnation of Chrome OS, means again within the Paleolithic period of 2010, Chromebooks did not have a Files app. You could not discover recordsdata in your laptop, you could not copy or transfer several types of knowledge, and also you positive as hell could not wirelessly switch recordsdata or mechanically sync ’em with every other form of system.Suffice it to say, we have come a great distance. These days, Chromebooks are subtle productiveness units with ample choices for superior file administration. But a number of one of the best file-related potentialities are nonetheless lurking beneath the floor and all too straightforward to overlook.If you are utilizing a Chromebook for any form of productivity-oriented functions, you will completely need to learn about these next-level types of file wizardry. So seize your digital wand and prepare: It’s time to forged a complete new spell of effectivity over your Chrome OS expertise.1. Chrome OS might revolve round Google software program and companies, however you do not have to restrict your self solely to Google Drive on the subject of cloud storage. So here is the trick to recollect: If you need your Chromebook to combine with different cloud storage choices, set up and arrange the official Android app for no matter service you need to add into the combo. As lengthy because the service helps the Chrome OS file system commonplace — which common office choices resembling Dropbox and OneDrive do — you will mechanically see it seem as an accessible possibility inside the Chrome OS Files app as soon as you have arrange the app and signed your self in. JR Raphael/IDG
Just a few fast clicks are all it takes to combine Dropbox, OneDrive, and different cloud companies immediately into the Chrome OS file system. (Click any picture on this story to enlarge it.)
2. Speaking of cloud storage, Chromebooks current a curious disconnect in that the methods are ostensibly all in regards to the cloud and retaining your knowledge perpetually synced — however by default, any recordsdata you obtain from the net are literally saved in a neighborhood system folder. You can repair that by typing chrome:settings into the tackle bar of any open browser window, then choosing “Advanced” adopted by “Downloads” within the left sidebar menu. Look for the road labeled “Location” in the primary space of the display screen and click on the Change button alongside it. Then simply choose a folder (or make a brand new folder particularly for downloads) inside your Google Drive storage.That’ll trigger something you obtain inside Chrome to be saved to Drive and thus be immediately accessible wherever you sign up. (And sure, the identical precise factor can work with every other cloud storage supplier, utilizing the earlier tip.)3. If you actually need to get wild, you may crank up your Chromebook’s cloud-connecting energy even additional by having your Windows or Mac laptop and Android cellphone additionally sync downloads with that very same Drive folder — successfully making a single device-agnostic and internet-based “Downloads” folder. That means, something you obtain from anyplace will all the time be accessible on any system you are utilizing. You can discover the total directions, when you dare, on this Android Intelligence column.4. When you should switch a file to or from one other Chromebook or between your present Chromebook and an Android system, search for the “Nearly visibility” possibility inside the Chrome OS Quick Settings panel (within the lower-right nook of the display screen). That’ll allow you to configure and activate Google’s Nearby Share system, which is obtainable on each Chrome OS and Android and makes it painless to go recordsdata forwards and backwards wirelessly between totally different units.5. You can create customized shortcuts to generally used folders — from both your native storage or any related cloud service — within the left panel of your Chromebook’s Files app for simple ongoing entry. Find the folder you need inside that panel and right-click it, then choose “Pin folder” so as to add it into the checklist.6. If you need to make a file much more accessible, attempt utilizing the Chrome OS Tote part, situated to the left of the clock within the bottom-of-screen standing bar space. (It’s the icon that appears like a field with a downward-facing arrow inside it.) The Tote part will mechanically show any lately used recordsdata, and you’ll pin particular recordsdata or folders to it by pulling ’em up in the primary panel of the Files app, right-clicking their names, after which choosing “Pin to shelf” within the menu that seems. JR Raphael/IDG
Pinning recordsdata or folders to your Chromebook’s Tote space makes positive they’re by no means greater than a single click on or faucet away.
7. Speaking of the Files app, a shortcut to recollect: You can transport your self immediately into the Chromebook’s file supervisor anytime, from anyplace, by hitting Shift-Alt-M.8. Make your self a psychological notice: The subsequent time you are within the Files app, you may swap between totally different sections by hitting Ctrl after which the quantity keys that correspond with their place (Ctrl-1 for Recent, Ctrl-3 for Images, and so forth).9. Here’s a pleasant little time-saving shortcut for renaming recordsdata and folders in your Chromebook: When you have obtained any merchandise highlighted inside the Chrome OS Files app, hit Ctrl and Enter to alter its identify. No clicking, no menu-hunting, and no seconds-wasting required.10. Chrome OS’s Files app has some built-in photograph enhancement choices which are good for fundamental picture manipulation and markups. While viewing a picture in Files, simply search for the Crop & Rotate, Rescale, Lighting Filters, and Annotate buttons alongside the highest of the display screen to get began. JR Raphael/IDG
Your Chromebook’s built-in Files app has some useful instruments for enhancing and marking up photographs with just about no effort.
11. For an much more sturdy file administration expertise, attempt giving your Chromebook the present of the Solid Explorer Android app (additionally my decide for one of the best superior file supervisor app on Android). It’s optimized for Chrome OS and presents you with a two-panel view for quick dragging and dropping of recordsdata between totally different places — together with your common Chrome OS storage, the world of your storage reserved for Android apps, and an enormous number of cloud-based storage accounts you may decide to attach. It additionally empowers you so as to add further encryption onto particular recordsdata or folders and even to create password-protected ZIP or 7ZIP archives. The app prices $3 after a two-week trial.Ready for much more superior Chromebook magic? Check out my assortment of 50 ideas for optimum Chromebook productiveness to find all kinds of helpful shortcuts for getting round Chrome OS, managing apps and home windows, bettering your textual content enter, and past.
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